SOLA Bistro & Bar — Restaurant in Puducherry

I am did see a small change from my last visit and it is as so.... this was on Nov 13th.

Food ordered in starters were, Fried Loutus steam( can't recall the dish name). The lotus steam was sliced a bit unevenly so while a few were roasted thicker ones were still starchy and with raw texture. Also, the sauces coating did not go well since the dough costing has an element of powdery finish. Not sure how they did that, was unpleasant.

Drunken Tiger Prawns, a good dish and a equally good presentation. What would be better if the service staff told us it was a flambe dish. Which was missing.

French fries were good. We had a little kid, she was searching for ketchup to go with it, we had a white sauce, hollandaise I guess. Also was missing a small ketup bottle on the table.

Nasi Goreng, the dish was good. One small thing to make it better would be a sunnyside egg on top, was all mashed up.

Popcorn Icecream. This is a good combination. The merger of hot + cold dish and Sweet + Salt as a taste. Completely plays with the senses that is detected by Toung. One caution, have this dish fast.

Burmese Khow Suey, a dish that never goes old. With your presentation, this is a must have dish and a good flavour and texture journey to explore.

I know, I am being a bit harsh and very selective. Was with two chef friends of mine and a kid. Told them, I was getting them to my fav. Restaurant in Pondycherry.

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A short story, I was searching for this place and I happened to see a person walking on the street with his t-shirt reading, Sola.

That person was Glen. Unknowing he guided me to the place. I was greeted by a locked door, upon knocking, Jordan came up and told me we will open in next 30 min. ... and the wait was worth it.

The order was a Bira, Khao Suey, Deep fried Squid. The beer paired absolutely amazing with the Deep fried squid and Khao Suey ( like the way it was sent to the table deconstructed).

The ambience, the place is segmented into three sections. The entrance, the garden area (open air), the bar section and a small private dining room.

Glen, a person native to Pondicherry had a good conversation with me. Want to find how had Pondy changed in the past 50 years... a good story teller is, Glen.

Jordan, like the name Michael Jordan is fast, polite and saved me from the tank water while I was sitting in the garden.

Bottom like a good place to visit. Coming with ground and spending some time to explore the menu is...

On the last day of my holiday to Pondicherry I decided to splash out and treat myself to a nice dinner. Chose Sola as it seemed like a nice place. Restaurant was rather quiet at 2.30pm, maybe 10 people. Upon arrival I ordered a bottle of water and a pint of KF (650ml). Another waiter arrived to confirm the pint. Warm bottle of water was changed for cold. Waiter came with a bottle of 330ml different beer and proceeded to open it. I said that's not a pint, he contradicted me ( ps, I'm Irish ) and said yes that's a pint bottle. I pointed to the 650ml on the menu that I ordered "oh we don't have that, its an old menu". Rule #1, don't contradict a customer! Ordered starters and main course. Stater arrived after 35 minutes. Orange chrispy chicken strips. Chicken was wet and rubbery, not chrispy, sauce quite spicy and not much orange flavour. One piece had a bone in it. Ordered the Mongolian beef for main. Am here nearly 1 hour now. Waiter came to ask if I wanted anything, I said, yes the main course. He left without taking the starter plates, they have been lying there 20 minutes now. Waiting 35 minutes for my main course. A couple who came in after me have had their starters and have started their main course already. Arrived at last 40 minutes. Menu called it " An Aussie favourite, A blast of ginger and shiitaake mushrooms tossed with tender strips of beef and served with herbed rice. No sign of the shiitakes, the beef strips were mini cubes and scarce, sauce was bland / tasteless. Rice was plain not "herbed". When I mentioned there was no shiitakes in the meal he apologised and took that off the bill. Bill came to Rs720, gave Rs1000. Waiter came back with just Rs250 as he said he had no change. They also added the 6% service charge. I would neither return to this establishment nor recommend it. Menu is incorrect with what they serve you. When a customer orders an item on the menu you cannot arrive with a substitute and presume the customer will not mind. They do not have the style or experience to run a restaurant. What was supposed to be a nice end to my holiday turned out to be...

I would have loved to rate them negative points but unfortunately there is no option. I cannot comment on their food since they did not honour their word and ruined our evening and added a bad taste to our otherwise decent Puducherry trip. I was traveling to Puducherry with my old mother and senior dog. This restaurant's name popped up in a search for pet friendly restaurants. I called them to confirm. The person on the other side of the phone confirmed they are pet friendly and also asked me the size of my dog (I have a mid-sized Indie girl). However, upon reaching, the staff said they do not allow pets. When I said I had called to confirm before coming, they said they apparently have two restaurants by the same name and 'perhaps' folks at the other one said they allow pets! Adding to this randomness, they asked for the number I called on. They called the person and then came back to me saying they have a garden area where they may let us in. By then I had decided to walk out but I requested if I can stay inside until my cab takes an U-turn and reaches outside the restaurant since there were several community dogs in the street who were pretty agressive with my dog just moments back. They said no we cannot wait inside. So, from leading us to their restaurant with misleading/ false information to asking us to get out, they did it all in the 5 minutes of our distasteful stay there. All I can say is they need to check their pride since 'pride hath before fall'. If they don't know their own policies, they don't know who answers their calls, they don't have clarity on which of their apparently many restaurants have what stance on pets, they do not have the decency to be considerate with someone who had two dependents with her and refused to let her wait for 2 minutes within the safety of their premises, they have failed at multiple levels and don't deserve any consideration...